Shihan Lowefs 80th
Birthday
On August 21 we had the
pleasure of arriving in Hawaii
to celebrate Shihan Lowefs 80th
birthday on August 23rd.
Although a late arrival, it
was wonderful to be in Hawaii
once again. Shihan Don called
on Saturday to say that he was
going to visit with Shihan
Lowe that afternoon and
suggested I go with him. With
Shihan having had a number of
medical setbacks in the past
year we didnft know what to
expect. We were pleasantly
surprised to find him sitting
in his family room waiting
when we arrived.
Shihan Lowe, Shihan Don,
myself and Shihan Lowefs son
Mike then spent a very
pleasant couple of hours
drinking Hawaiian holy water,
talking and reminiscing about
old times. Shihan looked great
and was very attuned to all
that was said. He started to
tire about 5 PM so Shihan Don
and I took our leave. It was
so good to see Shihan looking
so much better than we
expected.
On Sunday it was his birthday
so we arrived about 12:30
along with about 20 other
guests. Shihan Ishida, Sensei
Oyama, Sempai Oyama, Sempai
June from the Hawaii dojo were
all there along with Sempai
Franco, other out of town
guests and Shihan Lowefs
immediate family. Again we
spent the afternoon talking
and catching up with
everyonefs lives since that
last time we were together.
Shihan looked good and sat in
his chair smiling, listening
and having a good time talking
on the phone to the many
people who called from around
the world. We had a great
Hawaiian style lunch and most
of the guests were gone by 3.
Shihan went for a nap, which
left a few of us to sit and
talk karate and drink some
Canadian holy water. At 6 PM
we finally said our good-byes
and headed back to the hotel.
Unfortunately Monday night
training was cancelled, though
Shihan Lowe called on Thursday
saying he would be at training
that evening and would see me
there. When I arrived Shihan
was in the dojo in his dogi
and stayed for the first hour
of class. What a wonderful
feeling to have him there. We
did kihon, Ido Geiko, Happo
Kawashi and some Goshin Jitsu
until class ended at 8:30.
We all said a tearful goodbye
and promised to keep in touch.
It was so nice to go back to
Hawaii and we will certainly
do it again. If you get the
chance send Shihan a hello, I
know he would love to hear
from one and all and if you
are in Hawaii and get the
chance training is still every
Monday and Thursday night.
A big Aloha to Shihan Lowe,
Betty, Barb and Mike thanks
for all you did to make our
stay so wonderful. Thanks to
Shihan Ishida and Sensei Oyama
for the training, I learn
something-new everytime.
I certainly hope it will be
sooner rather than later when
we can all get together in the
dojo and as Sensei Oyama would
say, gSTRAP IT ONhc. but
thatfs another storyc.
Osu
Larry
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